28.10.13

TRUMP'S SLUMP

From
this season’s first five major ranking events Judd Trump has failed to reach a
last 16 (though he didn’t enter one of them).

This
doesn’t represent a career crisis but is a poor start to the campaign for the
world no.3.

In
fact, he played well in the International Championship today against Alan
McManus, making two centuries. In the decider, Trump attempted a red rather than
play safe, trying to win the match, which was the positive thing to do.

However,
he missed the pot and McManus made a good break to get to snookers required.

Trump
had made mistakes earlier in the match but McManus played positively throughout
and fully deserved his win.

You’re
never far away from advice and opinion where the internet’s concerned and Trump
will receive plenty of both after this latest setback. He didn’t help his cause
by tweeting last week that he would not only defend the title in Chengdu but
also make a 147, which seemed to be upping the stakes somewhat.

I’ve
always liked Judd as a player and a person. His talent is obvious and he is a
perfectly pleasant, polite young man.

I’m
less sure of the image that seems to have been created around him, that of some
kind of playboy enjoying the trappings of success.

Material
goods are nice to have but they are ultimately just stuff, and most snooker
fans aren’t actually that impressed by them, preferring on table performances
and achievements.

There’s
nothing wrong with doing corporate work to satisfy sponsors. Steve Davis and
Stephen Hendry did bucket loads of this in their time and Trump can’t be blamed
for doing similar.

I
have no comment to make about how much time he spends practising because I don’t
know his daily schedule. Similarly he can spend his private time however he
likes – nightclubs, gigs, holidays, whatever. That’s entirely his own business.

Balancing
work and life is not a struggle unique to snooker players. The difference is
that in many jobs you can perform below optimum level. Sport isn’t like that,
though. Increasingly in snooker if you don’t play well from round one you’ll be
on your way home.

It
seems to me that Trump is basically on a bad run of form. He’s too good for it
not to end.

But
the rest of this season and the near future will be interesting for
Trump-watchers. There’s never been a better time to be a young, talented
snooker player without the ties of marriage or children.

But
success brings with it distractions and these, paradoxically, are what often
impede further success in the future.

Trump
doesn’t seem the sort to dwell on things but maybe this is the time to decide what
he really wants and, moreover, how he’s going to get it.